Daddy Day Care
by J23K
Summary: After suffering a loss, a grizzled devil-hunter vows to set up an orphanage for desperate street children. But why is this working out to be so hard? And who's that white haired kid that looks so much like him? Dante's never been a responsible guy before, but now responsibility is going to be thrust upon him. AU - Nero is 10 for this and Dante's son.
1. Chapter 1 - If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'

**Daddy Day Care**

 _A world weary devil-hunter builds an orphanage for desperate street children._

 **Authors Note** : Nero's 10 for this fic, and Dante's son. This might seem kind of similar to my other fic 'Everybody Wants to Rule the World' but they are different. They share themes but the messages are different. This one's more about fatherhood and responsibility.

This story was heavily inspired by Rhiw's 'Like Father, Like Son' fanfic. If you haven't read that, I would definitely recommend it.

Don't forget to review!

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own Devil May Cry.

 **CH. 1 – If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'**

 _BRRING! BRRING!_

The ringing sounded like booming in Dante's ears and he snapped awake, his vision blurry and his head throbbing something _wicked_. His eyes shot to the source of the shrill sound directly next to him. Shit, he couldn't even remember how much he drank last night. His hand went to rub his forehead; his eyes closing heavily .

 _BRRING! BRRING!_

Dante ignored it a second, slouching up from his splintered desk and covering his eyes - blaring pain ringing behind them. Why the hell was it so FUCKING bright in this store?! " _Lady_!"

 _BRRING! BRRING!_

" _Lady! There's too much light in this place_!" Dante shouted.

 _BRRING! BRRING!_

Dante slammed his hand on the desk, the phone receiver popping up out of place and into his hand. He put the receiver up against his ear, sniffing and rubbing his nose. "Devil May Cry."

" _IT'S ALL NATURAL LIGHT YOU DICK_!" Lady shouted from the top of the stairs. " _IT'S THREE IN THE FUCKING AFTERNOON!_ "

Dante put the phone against his bare chest, glaring death up the stairs. He was really hoping Lady could feel how much death he was glaring up the stairs at her. " _Lady, I swear to God I'll come up there!_ "

" _AND DO WHAT?!_ " Lady shouted from the top of the stairs.

Ohhh boy, she didn't even want to know what Dante would do. Why, he would … he would … actually, there's nothing Dante would do. He never did anything to either of the women that lived with him. Wow, what a bummer that was.

"Err … hello?" the voice said from the other side of the phone.

Dante's attention completely switched to the phone now, placing his ear intently against it. "Yeah, Devil May Cry …"

" _THAT'S WHAT I FUCKING THOUGHT,_ " Lady shouted.

Dante gritted his teeth, swatting Lady away with his hand even though she wouldn't see it and hearing Lady's footsteps walk away as he sank into his desk. "Yeah, Devil May Cry. What can I do for you today?"

"Err …" the voice on the other side was lost for words, "good afternoon, sir. I'm calling from Capulet City Hospital. We have a patient here asking for a Mr Dante?"

His mind became alert right through the hangover and he immediately snapped up on the desk. "Aaliya?"

"That's right sir she …"

"How is she? Is she okay?" Dante asked.

"Well actually, that's what we're ringing about sir, I'm afraid she went into a highly critical condition this morning."

Dante's heart pulsed. "But she's okay, right?"

"She is pulling through sir, but we don't know how long that will last for. We feel she should be with some next of kin in this very crucial time, so are you Aaliya's father?"

Dante rubbed his eyes, his head shaking heavily.

"Sir - are you the …"

"No, no I'm not," Dante said, "she's an orphan, I just visit her a lot."

"Right." the nurse said, "errm … we normally have a strict policy against people who are not next of kin meeting with patients."

"She doesn't have anyone else," Dante said, "let me see her."

"Well, we are aware of this sir, so we are willing to make an exception as long as you have a third party nurse in the room with you. Can you make it within the next hour?"

Dante nodded. "I can be there in the next ten minutes."

"Okay well please hurry sir, we have no idea how long she has."

Dante flipped the phone into the air.

It landed back into the receiver with a _SLAM._

Aaliya wouldn't die today. Not on Dante's watch. He scrambled off the desk, crashing onto the floor and then haphazardly throwing his red leather duster over his form and strapping on his boots.

He needed a vital star.

He jostled on the top drawer on his desk, clambering it open and sifting through all the shit that cluttered up the drawer. Everytime – _every goddamn time_ \- he opened this drawer, he made a silent plea to clean it. And everytime – _every GODDAMN time_ – he didn't do that. He sifted through, his hand reaching in deep and pulling out his prize.

A green star-shaped bottle that glistened in the light.

This was _exactly_ what Dante needed. He speed-walked out of the front door and down the steps of his entrance.

It was bright outside, the sun beaming through the dusty desert roads.

It seared his face with heat, and his hand went to cover his eyes. Summer in Capulet city was just – _way too hot_. He couldn't even start to think how the Sparda Day marchers would be feeling. He sprinted forwards through two alleyways and across the streets. He then hopped over a fence and passed by two hobos asleep on dirty mattresses.

The Sparda Day parade was in full swing now; a group of men, women and children dancing and clapping through the streets. Flurries of red and gold and green were prickling through the march, and a harmony of drums and whistling echoed through the streets.

Dante tensed, his eyes shooting to the people. Why the hell did they have to pick today to do this? He wouldn't be able to get through the streets, not this way anyway. He scanned over the crowd, looking for any walkthroughs or spots that were less crowded. There wasn't a lot of options. Dante pivoted right, looking up at the building next to him. He could take the rooftops to get past them. His eyes hastily surveyed the alleyway he was standing in.

Other than a few transients to the far side, the alleyway was devoid of people.

That worked for him – all the people were probably way more interested in the march. He started sprinting forwards towards the building, immediately grasping up onto it and climbing up the side. He clutched into the soft spots, using them to boost his body up the side, his feet clutching into the jagged building-work that was _oh-so-famous_ in Capulet city. He sped up on the final portion of the building, boosting himself over the top and landing on the top of the building. His eyes were darting around, checking for anyone who might have seen him.

The buildings were relatively close together; a decrepit mess of brown bricks and smoking rooftops providing a stark contrast with the beaming sun.

It wouldn't be all that hard to scale the buildings in this area, but he would need to be careful once he got to the hospital where the buildings started getting farther apart. He started bolting forwards and triggering almost immediately. He then began pouncing over the small gaps in the buildings, accelerating his forward momentum. In this state, he was always so much angrier – _and so much hungrier_ – than in his normal state _._ He needed to keep his devil trigger on a leash – but _fucck_ did it come in handy when he needed speed or aggression.

The spaces between the houses were getting further apart; now the buildings looking more like a squabble of drab colour. Instead of smoking chimneys, there was uneven rooftops and jagged laces of white stringing from the buildings as a result of the parade.

Dante needed to be even more careful now, jumping even farther forwards to make the gaps between the buildings and sprinting towards the hospital.

The hospital was just across the street.

His eyes were squinting as he bolted forwards. Aaliya was in that hospital, and that information made him boost every step even faster forwards. He leapt and pounced and dodged over the buildings with all the grace of a lion.

Dante didn't want to waste time waiting for nurses, so he jumped his way across, untriggering whilst in midair. He bounced off the hospital wall, deftly climbing past windows and clotheslines that were stupidly connected between houses and the hospital because people had nowhere else to hang their clothes. _His city, ladies and gentlemen_.

Aaliya's window was up ahead.

Dante's adrenaline surged, and he swerved underneath the window, kicking himself through the open window and landing on his feet.

The sickly thin girl lay in front of him – a gown of white covering her thin form and a messy crop of black hair covered her meek face. At first her face dropped but then her face became a beaming smile when she noticed Dante. " _Dante,_ " she said, her body completely still and her face strained, "we have a front door."

Dante's heart straight up went out to her. She had been here for a while, but she hadn't looked this bad since from when Dante first met her. "And what kind of entrance would I make coming through the front door?" Dante asked, coming to sit on the chair next to her.

Aaliya chuckled weakly, coughing and sniffing. "A normal one?"

Dante shook his head. "A lousy one. Anyway I bought you something."

"Flowers _?_ " Aaliya said with a weak smile, " _you shouldn't have._ "

For a kid, she was real sarcastic. "No _smart ass_ , I bought you help _,_ " Dante said, searching through his pocket with hand, "something that will make you feel better _._ "

Aaliya sniffed, trying to look out the window. "How's the parade looking?"

From where they sat, the parade echoed quietly through the room.

Dante was still digging through his pockets, forgetting where he put the star. "It's looking nice. I saw at least a few several hundred people in that parade."

Aaliya's eyes were on Dante's. "What did it look like?"

" _Colourful,_ " Dante said, "a lot of red."

Aaliya smirked. "Like your outdated red coat?"

Dante found the vial, pulling it out and shaking it. "It's not outdated. It's _chic._ Here, this'll make you feel better."

Aaliya shook her head. "I don't want it."

Dante tensed up at this, showing her the vial in his hand. "What are you talking about? It'll make you feel better _._ "

Aaliya shook her head again, her eyes fixed on Dante's own. " _I don't want to feel better._ "

Dante winced, dragging his chair closer to the sickly thin girl. "Aaliya _…_ "

"There's nothing out there for me, Dante. Nothing I would want to feel better about, anyway _._ "

Dante shook his head. "There's me, Aaliya _._ And I don't know what I would do if you died."

Aaliya frowned, looking down to her thin fingers and coughing briefly. "Dante I'm tired of this _…_ "

"Na c'mon _,_ Aaliya _,_ " Dante said, "I really have no idea what I'd do if you died _._ "

Aaliya frowned, her brows furrowing in thought. "I'm not so sure _…_ "

"You can come live with me _,_ " Dante said, "we can do anything you want together."

Aaliya's face turned into a weak smile. "I can _?_ "

"Sure you can _,_ " Dante said, "you can crash at my place and we'll read magazines and air guitar and talk about girls."

Aaliya chuckled. "You can't talk about girls with a girl."

"According to who?" Dante asked.

She struggled, swallowing slowly. "It's the ... rules."

Dante frowned, trying to keep his face straight for her. "We'll make an exception to that rule in the Devil May Cry store."

Aaliya chuckled again, her face fully focused on Dante's own. "Okay, I'll try your medicine _._ "

Dante was relieved to hear these words, popping the cap off the vital star and slowly placing it against her mouth. He hoped to high hell this worked. "It'll taste like shit …" he said.

She choked on the liquid, groaning as she drank it down her throat.

"Sorry," Dante said, wincing at the sight, "really sorry about the taste."

She almost threw up as the liquid went down her throat.

Dante briefly held her down, finishing off the liquid and then throwing the star away. "Sorry again. How you feeling _?_ " Dante asked.

"That burned all the way down my throat _,_ Dante," Aaliya said.

Dante chuckled. "My bad, I'm so used to it now that I forgot that's what it tastes like _._ "

She shook her head. "I still don't feel all too good _._ "

Dante's heart beat a little harder at that. That wasn't a good sign. Vital stars always kicked in straight away. "Let's give it some time _,_ " Dante said, "how these doctors treating you _?_ "

" _Good,_ " she smiled, "yesterday I ate fish with peas and chips _._ "

"You could have saved me some, you fat bastard," Dante said. It was ironic because she was so sickly thin Dante immediately regretted the joke.

Aaliya smirked. " _Sorry, orphans only._ "

Dante wasn't gonna do anything to discomfort her in these moments, so he avoided the fact that he too was an orphan. "Alright, how do I get membership to this club _?_ "

Aaliya's eyes thoughtfully went to the air. "I guess you could kill your parents _,"_ she smiled.

"Are you a psychopath, Aaliya? Because if you are I need to know that."

Aaliya smiled, her body too drained to laugh, and shook her head. "Not that I know of."

"Well that sounds like really hard work anyway. I mean I'd have to plan it all out, file paperwork for the insurance, the tools necessary to pull off the murder, it would just be a really long process," Dante said.

Aaliya did chuckle at this, coughing violently into her hand.

Dante frowned again. "You're not feeling any better?"

Aaliya shook her head, smiling weakly.

That was the only plan Dante had in his head. He couldn't think of any other plans that would save the little girl's life. He was starting to feel really helpless. "Is it bad pain?"

Aaliya nodded. "Like a thousand on the scale _._ "

Dante frowned, leaning even closer to Aaliya. "Please pull through this, Aaliya _._ "

Aaliya started shaking her head.

"Don't …" Dante struggled, holding her hand, "don't leave me in this dark, depressing world all on my own _._ "

" _Dante,_ " Aaliya said, "I know I'm looking brave and all, but I'm actually really scared. So I need you to be brave to balance it out. You're not doing a very good job."

Dante shook his head, standing up and going over to the wall, his hand going to rub over his hair.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Dante shook his head again, his eyes going to the ceiling. He was really hoping that the vital star would kick in sometime soon. " _You're such a retard_ ," he half-laughed, brushing his lips with his tongue, "you're the one in critical condition and you're asking me if I'm okay."

"I don't want you to feel bad," Aaliya smiled.

His face dropped as he turned around to face her. "You're pretty good at it. You should consider it as like a long-time career or something."

She smiled again, twitching her fingers. "You don't know what I would do to live with you, Dante. I wish I had met you earlier _._ "

Dante's cheeks warmed at this. "You really wouldn't Aaliya. I'm a … I'm a total slob."

She shook her head, the tears slowly forming in her eyes. "I'm so glad I met you, Dante _,_ " she said, "you've lit up my life _._ "

Dante shook his head. " _Aaliya …_ seriously, I'm gonna cry if you keep talking shit like that."

"There should be more people like you in the world. I've never met anyone like you before. And I really hope you keep bringing happiness to children's lives all round the world _."_

 _"_ Aaliya, don't _… please don't talk like you're going to die."_

Aaliya shook her head, a thin glean of sweat covering her body. "You're like the dad I never had, and the brother that I never had _._ "

"Aaliya," Dante said, placing her hands in his own.

She looked into his eyes for a brief second and smiled. "Maybe one day we'll meet up .. .we'll meet up aga -"

Her body began seizing up, coming up off the bed.

Dante's eyes went wide. His face dropped, losing all of it's colour. Oh no fuck! What the hell was he supposed to do?! He tried to keep her from hurting herself then he realised that was a futile effort if she died. Why couldn't he do anything about this?! He dashed towards the door, swinging it open. " _Doctor!_ "

She was seizing up on the bed, her body involuntarily going against her will.

"DOCTOR!"

She was making mewling sounds but nothing else was leaving her throat.

He fumbled over to her, clutching her hands in his own. "Don't die on me, Aaliya _…_ "

Doctors rushed into the room, bleary shouts about medicines and nurses and IV's. They enveloped her, pushing Dante back whilst surrounding her small form.

Her eyes were deep pools of green.

Dante knew at that instant moment that he would never again forget those eyes of green. The green eyes that burned holes into his memory. The eyes of a life that may never again breathe another breath.

"She's not stabilising!" one of the doctors shouted.

Dante shook his head, his hands going onto his head, as he watched her eyes. _Aaliya …_

Then with one final breath from her sickly thin throat, the heart monitor flatlined.

Dante froze, every muscle in his body tensing. The world seemed to stop for Dante at that point. All of time and energy felt like it was in that one moment where the monitor had flatlined. His thoughts stopped whilst he just watched the lifeless body of the girl remain still and unmoving – her eyes shut like she was asleep. But the total absence of movement from her body told Dante that she wasn't asleep. _She wasn't asleep_.

And Dante was aware of this – and he was aware of it for a long time – that she would die; but for some reason it only just registered that she wouldn't actually ever reply again to anything Dante said.

He sat back in the chair, his eyes concentrating on Aaliya's face. And In what seemed like a blur, doctor's began whizzing past him and moving to check on her and take down details of her death but Dante remained seated. Even when a nurse came up to him, asking him something like ' _sir are you okay?_ ' he couldn't work out the words to say to her. He'd met the girl at least once a day every day for the past month, and now … it was like there was a giant hole in Dante's heart that gnawed away at his sensibilities. Only just holding back an unbridled anger that threatened to destroy Capulet city.

Dante only ever knew this pain one other time in his life. It wasn't like the pain of fighting with demons, it was a pain that was deep inside him. One that stabbed at his heart and that he couldn't get rid of no matter what he tried.

He didn't remember much of the walk back to his shop, nor did he remember getting into the shower whilst Lady shouted shit at him. He turned on the shower head, the steaming water cascading down his body. And yet, he didn't even know if it was hot or not. He was sure it was; he could see the steam; but It didn't cure and it didn't heal. It just … did nothing.

The night came just as slowly. And whilst he lay in his bed, his thoughts were on Aaliya. Sleep didn't come, and neither did relief from the pain, just a constant process of thoughts that flurried through Dante's head.

Maybe Dante actually shed a few tears that night - for the life of him he couldn't remember.

oooooooooooooooooo

Daybreak came far too early, the clock reading 9:03 as Dante bolted awake – the sleepiness making his muscles cry in protest.

Lady sat in front of him, her eyes scanning his body.

"You need to stop perving on me for like an hour," he said, slumping back into a laying position. "I'm trying to sleep."

"Dante, are you okay?" Lady asked.

"Yeah," Dante said blankly, shrugging his shoulders on his bed. "I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

"No I am," Dante said blankly, "really."

Lady was silent for a long while. "Look, Dante, I'm not gonna pretend to know what happened yesterday. But I know that there's something different about you. You seem … _off._ Distant. Like you don't want to be here."

Dante said nothing, his eyes focused out the window.

Lady stood up and came and sat on the foot of his bed. "You want to talk about it?"

"No," Dante said, "I want to do something about it."

"Do what?" Lady asked.

Dante didn't really know the answer to that question.

"Dante, I've never known you to mope."

"I don't mope," Dante fired back, "I be awesome."

Lady smirked. "That's the dick I'm looking for."

Dante said nothing, his eyes scanning left and right.

"So what can you do to fix this problem right now?"

What could he do ... he could do something. He could fix shit. He could get things done. He bolted up in his bed, his eyes going to the wall.

"Dante," Lady said.

He would not fall prey to guilt. He would do something about this. Something that made sense and that would redeem Aaliya's death. Something that would raise it to a high pedestal whilst also giving something back to her.

"Dante, are you -"

"Shhh, I'm thinking," Dante said.

Lady's mouth dropped open. "Okay I know you're upset and all, but don't think I won't _smack you one around the face_."

Dante's mind raced even faster. What?! What could he do that would make the pain in his heart go away? He couldn't mope, he knew that much. But he had to do _something_! Something to make sure there were no more future Aaliya's ever. Something to make sure that Aaliya would be the last orphan to die in his city on his watch. Something to make sure that _he maintained control_ in these situations. He slammed his hand down on the table.

Lady flinched, leaning back on the bed away from him. "Dante, _talk to me._ "

 _What could he do though_?! He fell off the bed, rushing to the window.

The old building across the road was dry and run-down.

An orphanage – Dante could build an orphanage. He could make sure that all the children were properly fed, as well as being protected under the watchful eye of a grizzled-devil hunter and his entourage of beautiful women.

That was it, Dante knew what he had to do.

He needed to build an orphanage in Aaliya's name.

He needed to prevent Aaliya from ever happening again. He started pacing out the room.

"Dante," Lady said, "what the hell are you …"

"No time, Lady, busybusy, shit to do and people to see."

"Dante …" Lady sat dumbstruck as Dante exited the room.

 **Authors Note :** I want to try introducing you to new songs, so the first one that I think perfectly catches the theme of this chapter is Real by Kendrick Lamar. How much love I gots for you guys?

Expect updates soon, but reviews will definitely speed things up. They give me a way to gauge if this story is actually being read and liked (y)


	2. Chapter 2 - Like Father, Like Son

**CH. 2 - Like Father Like Son**

The building was derelict; a slop of brown and grey that careened under it's own weight. It was tall, reaching slightly higher than the other buildings. Most of the windows were broken – and there was an ominous darkness exuding from within the building.

To be honest though, Dante didn't give a shit what it looked like now; because the finished product was etched into his head. This shit wouldn't just be an orphanage; it'd be a _fucking resort._ The walls would be painted; not the dry wall shit Dante had at the shop. It would have children buzzing in and out and life would echo from all the corners of the hallowed hall, with a warm fire in the corner and red cushioned sofas that entertained the conversations of children before they grew into the blazing embers Dante figured they'd turn into. Aaliya's orphanage wouldn't just save children; it would make _leaders_ ; people who contributed something back to his city. Aaliya's orphanage would be the most talked about in the whole of Capulet City, and Aaliya's orphanage would be home to one and all. It would be his _beautiful heaven_.

Which lead Dante to his first obstacle that would need to be worked out before that happened - how exactly he was gonna turn this piece of shit building into his _beautiful heaven_. Dante scratched his head, surveying the building with his eyes. This was gonna be a real headache - like just the building work alone would take him days. And then it didn't stop there; he was gonna need staff, a constant flow of money, food, drink, hot water, beds, heating, a fixed roof … _FUCCK._

He took a deep breath. One step at a time, Dante … one step at a time …

The ominous darkness surrounding the building grew.

Dante couldn't see it, but he could sense it, and that most likely meant demons inside - so the best first thing to do would be to clear this building of all the demons inside. That worked for Dante, because killing demons was definitely something he was good at; and something that he could do way better than starting an orphanage. So it seemed like a good place to start.

He sniffed, beginning his walk up the steps of this _to-be_ orphanage – his sword haphazardly behind his shoulders – and booted open the door.

The door crashed onto it's own hinges and began creaking quietly back into it's original place.

He walked into the room, stepping over an over-turned and ripped up sofa. "Helloo …"

There was a frame on the far wall with a picture of a family - two children and two parents.

A flash of an image of Dante and Vergil and their parents whizzed through Dante's brain. Dante spent a long time looking at the picture, his eyes flickering and shooting to the floor. Best to leave the past as the past. He turned away, walking towards the stairs.

A girl began crying from upstairs.

Dante tensed, stopping perfectly still, his eyes shooting to the source. It was too deep and feral to be human. Nah, that was a demon, hands down. And that meant he was right; this place _did_ have a demon. But still, the crying sounded strange … even for a demon – with both a high and low pitch to it. Dante shook off the feeling and made his way forwards.

The crying got louder.

His eyes went upwards again to the source, narrowing as if to get a better view. He stepped over the broken stairs – walking up them and hopping over any spaces within the steps. As soon as he reached the top, he stopped, his eyes shooting again to the source.

It wasn't just crying; it was sobbing – deep sobbing that echoed directly from the room.

A bolt of adrenaline went through the devil-hunter, and he winced, walking over to the room as he drew Ebony, aiming it over at the door. He was scanning the door frame just as much as the door.

The crying turned into roaring now; a guttural sound that combined sobbing and roaring.

It was as if this thing was forbidding Dante from coming any closer. He pushed open the door with his sword.

The crying immediately stopped.

Another bolt of adrenaline burned through Dante. He stepped into the room. His eyes darted around for the source of the shrieking. His pistol was held high. His super-sharp hearing was on high alert for any of the demons that might have tried to creep up behind him.

There was nothing in the room.

Dante tensed, his eyes shooting to the hallway. Then they went back inside the room and towards the ceiling as he scanned for the demon. His grip on his gun was tight.

The demon presence had disappeared from the building.

Dante's gun was clutched in his hands as he continued scanning the room with his eyes. This wasn't no demon Dante had ever faced before. If anything, it seemed more like a ghost. Like an ethereal being that could just warp in and out of reality whenever it wanted to. How the hell was a demon imitating a …

The tapping of feet and laughing screeched on the ceiling above him.

Adrenaline surged through Dante, his aim bolting to the ceiling. His eyes were completely fixed on where the footsteps had come from. Not a single muscle in his body moved without his permission so that he could focus all his attention on the ceiling.

The footsteps ran away from him, still laughing.

He followed them with his pistol.

" _Daante …_ " a child's voice came from the ceiling.

Dante followed the footsteps out of the room, chasing them with his gun.

" _I'm going to eat you, Dante …_ " the voice said, cackling as it did.

Dante continued following the footsteps with his gun and came to a door on the left hand side. He bashed it open, dashing up the stairs two at a time and towards the attic – his gun in front of him.

The attic was empty, nothing but a window on the far side that couldn't be seen through.

The hairs stood on the back of Dante's neck; his eyes scanning in every direction for the demon. He sniffed, rolling his gun on his hand then holstering it and walking forwards. He grabbed instead for his sword, taking it to the floor and placing the tip into the floor. "Tst, _here boy_."

No response.

His heart steadily beat in his chest. His eyes and ears scanned for anything suspicious. One thing was for definite; he'd never seen any demon like this before. He turned his head, checking the stairs again.

 _Nothing._

His eyes shot to the ceiling, scanning for any demon residue or blood. How was this little bitch getting around? And how did he keep coming and going like that?

The sound of a sword being drawn pulsed behind Dante.

A bolt of adrenaline surged through the devil-hunter. He swerved around, pivoting his whole body on his foot, his pistol launching up out of the holster to face the menace.

Vergil was walking towards Dante; his sword in hand. His blue coat glimmered in the light. His eyes were dark pools of red as he marched forwards.

Fear seized up Dante's entire body. His breath caught in his throat. His eyes went wide as he stumbled backwards, his gun still pointed at his brother's face. His hands went pale as his face dropped, struggling to keep hold of the gun. "The fuck?!"

"You didn't save her, Dante," Vergil said, his sword coming up.

Terror was pulsing through Dante, a steady bead of sweat making it's way over his head. His breathing was ragged; and his sense of space was being deeply invaded by Vergil. "You're not Vergil. I don't know what you are, but _you're not Vergil_."

"You killed our mother."

His heart began hammering in his chest and his eyes were wide. He cracked Vergil away from him with his gun. "You weren't there, _Vergil!_ "

Vergil staggered back, quickly regaining himself then marching towards Dante again.

Dante squeezed the trigger of his gun at Vergil's head. " _You don't know what FUCKING happened to her!_ "

The bullet fired out of his gun and Vergil disappeared. The bullet hit the wall in front of Dante.

Dante's hand shook as he scanned for his brother, rushing forwards to where Vergil should have been and scanning everywhere with his eyes. He sprinted to the stairs, his eyes darting into every corner to find Vergil again.

It was as if Vergil was never there in the first place.

Fury ripped through Dante, and he broke his hand into the wall, roaring as he paced backwards and forwards. He kicked at an overturned chair, sending it hurtling out of the window. It was the FUCKING demon; somehow it could manifest itself as other beings. " _Alright then, you bastard! You wanna play? Let's fucking play I've got something for you._ " He put away Ebony and pulled out his shotgun, checking it as he raged down the stairs. _"_ Let's fucking play, I've got something for you. _"_

His shotgun was out in front of him as he re-entered the corridor, his eyes darting for the demon. "Come out, come out, banshee. _Don't make me burn this place to the FUCKING ground!_ "

Nothing.

He roared, boosting towards the stairs. "This your house, nah?! _I'll burn your fucking house to the ground_!"

No response.

" _You fucker, I'll rip out your tongue and feed it back to you!_ "

Still nothing.

He paced back and forth like a broken record, scratching his head as he moved towards the stairs again. "You make _fucking_ quips like that about family and then you run away?! What kind of a demon are you? Alright I'll burn this fucking place down right now. Just you fucking watch me."

A young girl with red eyes and a white dress appeared from the room Dante checked earlier. Her teeth were sharper than swords and extended all the way round her smile.

Adrenaline broke through Dante. He took aim at her, immediately squeezing off his gun.

She vanished, moving closer to him.

Dante jerked the barrel in less than a second, taking aim at her again and firing off his gun.

She vanished, getting even closer to him.

He jerked the barrel, squeezing off another shot.

She was closer this time.

He jerked the barrel again, squeezing off another shot.

Vergil this time.

He jerked the barrel again, squeezing off another shot.

Back to the girl, still teleporting forwards.

His shotgun came up, and he closed one eye as he aimed at her head. " _Hasta Luego, bitch._ "

She was in touching distance now.

He clutched for his sword at the last second and thrust it forwards.

It ripped a gigantic hole through her red dress; soaking it in blood.

That felt _good._ Dante felt every bone and organ crunch in her body as the sword crushed through her form.

She went limp around the sword, squirming slightly and looking into Dante's eyes.

He flinched, moving slightly backwards. She was _fucking_ ugly. A pathetic mess of a demon that was ragged and washed out. He watched her eyes coldly with his own.

" _You would kill your own brother_?" she whispered.

Dante thrust his sword even further into her. "You're no brother of mine."

She squealed around the sword, dragging herself further forwards on the sword and clutching onto Dante, her blood red eyes looking into Dante's own. "Why don't you love me, brother?"

He grabbed for his gun, ramming it into her temple and squeezing the trigger.

A loud bang blew half her face off. She squirmed, then came back again with a giant hole in her head, her face growing into another smile. "I still love you, brother."

He slammed the gun into her head, and shot several more times.

She just flinched every time and then came back up, cackling as she did.

He pounded her off the sword and onto the floor.

She crashed onto the floor, her body twisting and writhing and slithering.

"Well if you ain't gonna die like that," Dante said, cracking his knuckles, "looks like we'll have to try more creative ways." He walked forwards towards her, his sword out. "I'll drag you all through Capulet 'til I find out what you are."

As if from nowhere, a boy wearing a large black hoodie over his skinny figure and ripped trousers dashed directly past Dante.

Dante's gun instinctively aimed at the boy, but at the last second he stopped himself from squeezing the trigger. _The boy was human._

The boy was holding some kind of metallic tube device, and he waved it over the demon as he jumped over her.

Dante had just caught the smile from the kid as he dashed by Dante.

The demon disappeared into the boy's bottle and he landed on the bannister. The boy looked into the device and smirked; as if admiring his work.

Dante's breathing was calm and focused, his gun directly pointed at the boy.

The hood had fallen off the boy's head now, and he had white hair – just like Dante – even if it was dirty and matted. The boy shook the vial, the faint screaming of the demon coming from within, and smiled again.

"Give me the vial," Dante said.

The boy looked over to Dante, his cornflower blue eyes burning into Dante's soul.

Eyes so much like Dante's own … naa, it wasn't possible …

"What's with the coat?" the kid asked.

The kid was half-demon. _He had to be._ "What's with the bottle?"

The boy's eyes went to the bottle. "What? This guy?" He shook the bottle again, smiling at the scream that came from within and holding it against his ear.

" _Yes,_ " Dante said, " _that guy._ "

The boy shrugged his shoulders non-chalantly. "You were kind of struggling old man, I just jumped in to save your life."

Dante held his hand out. "Give me the vial."

The kid sheltered it in his hands. "What? No, it's mine."

Dante tutted. "No it's not yours, you're like four. Give me the vial, I'll get rid of it properly."

The kid stood up on the bannister, his hands taking the vial behind his back. "It's mine."

Dante was looking into his eyes – his eyes that were so much like Dante's own. "Don't do something you regret, kid. Give me the vial."

The boy walked backwards, a smile spread over his face.

"Kid …" Dante said, "don't even _take_ another step."

The boy leapt off the bannister and directly onto the floor.

A bolt of adrenaline burst through Dante and he clenched up and sprinted towards the bannister. This kid! "Oh, you fuckin' …"

The kid had landed on the floor deftly, running directly to the door of the building.

Dante grabbed onto the bannister, throwing himself over it after the kid. " _You little bastard!_ "

The boy ran out the door.

A fresh wave of adrenaline flooded through Dante and he boosted forwards, sprinting towards the door and straight out the front.

The boy was climbing up the side of the building.

Dante didn't even miss a beat; he clutched onto the building, chasing after the kid. "I _am gonna hurt you soo bad, kid!_ "

The boy was fast. He reached the top of the building in seconds, throwing himself over it.

Dante moved faster, grabbing onto the building as he moved upwards. Eventually, he threw himself up and over the building.

The kid was dashing towards the gaps in the building.

Dante sprinted after him.

The boy was deftly flipping between the buildings and directly forwards.

WHAT THE FUCK?! How was this kid so athletic?! Could he actually be part of the Sparda bloodline? He couldn't have been Dante's … could he? Dante moved even faster forwards, chasing after the kid.

The boy stopped short of the edge of the building, noticing the gap too far to jump.

Dante closed the distance between him and the kid.

The boy turned round to face Dante, his blue eyes narrowing at Dante's own.

"Credit to you, kiddo," Dante said, "you were about as fast as me. Not a lot of people can do that. Now … _give me the fucking vial._ "

The kid shook his head.

"Kid, don't think I won't kill you with this sword because I will. _I'll kill you._ "

The kid smirked, holding out his arms on the edge of the building.

Oh my god he was going to jump. They were way too high up, that fall would probably hurt Dante, so it'd definitely kill the kid. "Eh now, don't do anything stupid, kid."

The boy was still smirking.

Dante eyes were fixed on the kid's own, his body hunched over to make a dash towards the kid if he tried anything really, really stupid. _Like jumping off a building._ "Kid …"

The boy closed his eyes and threw himself backwards off the building.

Dante's heart leapt to his throat and he jagged forward, bolting after the kid and clearing the building in milliseconds. He threw himself off the building, diving after the kid.

The boy was free-falling, his eyes closed.

Dante went straight as a bullet to accelerate even faster forwards, latching onto the child.

The boy's eyes opened, pissed-off blue eyes staring directly into Dante's, his brows furrowed.

Who the fuck was this kid?! Why was he making Dante so uncomfortable?!

The kid had some devil arm. Like his right arm was normal but his left arm was mutated with some kind of purple and brown coating.

It was demonic in nature, and Dante wondered how the kid had managed to get it. In fact, Dante was pretty sure …

The devil-hunter crashed down onto the street, a giant splatter of blood erupting from his body onto the street below him.

The boy stayed in his arms for a while. Then he struggled out from Dante's arms, looking into the man's eyes for a second. He then dusted himself off - dashing off in the other direction.

* * *

"Sir … sir, you alright?!"

Dante tasted blood.

"Sir, you alright there?!"

Dante awoke slowly, his eyes shooting to the man's own. " _White hair_ …"

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"He had white hair … why did he have white hair?"

"Sir, I got no idea what you're saying …"

"There was a boy here," Dante said, "where is he?"

"Err … I didn't see no boy, sir. Only you fall off that building."

Dante looked up. It was a real long way down. He shook his head, his eyes going to the sky. The kid had a hunch Dante would try to save him. And he knew he could use Dante to cushion his fall without any real damage to his own body. Dante shook his head – it was the kind of stupid risk _Dante_ would take.

"Sir, you want me to help you to the hospital?"

The kid was gone. He would have made a lot of ground in the time Dante was out cold. Dante wouldn't be able to pick up his trail, the kid was too good for that. "I think that kid was my son."

The man's face turned to shock. "He was?!"

"Ain't that strange?" Dante said, "I think the kid's mine and I've never even met him before today."

"Sir, you look really bad …"

"I'm alright," Dante said, "I'm alright. I'm going home, it's been a long day."

The man was in more shock than Dante.

Dante stood up from his own pool of blood and the gigantic gash in the back of Dante's skull healed up in front of the man. He turned back to the man for one second. "I don't even know his name."

He didn't wait for a reply; he just walked home, his eyes on the floor for the entire way. That kid had the swagger of Vergil, and physical features that crazily reflected Dante's own. White hair, blue eyes, a devil arm … speaking of which, what the hell was up with that devil arm? Dante knew he'd never seen anything like it … but it was _demon_. He had to be of Dante's bloodline. And that thought was one of the scariest Dante had _had_ in days.

By the time he got home, the grizzled devil-hunter walked directly in through the front door. He went straight upstairs and into Trish's room.

Trish was laying on her bed reading some magazine, and she looked over at Dante as he entered the room. "What the hell happened to you?"

Dante said nothing, coming over and sitting next to the bed on the floor as he so often did when he was upset so that his back was leaning on the bed next to her.

She leaned over on her bed to look at him. "You okay?"

Dante's eyes were watering. "I think … there's this kid ... _he looks like me_ …"

"What?"

"He err … he looks like me, and … same hair … " his finger circled around his own blood-matted hair as he said this. "And same eyes as me. And he moved _fast._ And he had this devil-arm ..."

Trish came off the bed, sitting down next to Dante. "Any chance he's related to you?"

Dante shook his head. "Me and Vergil were the only two demon human hybrids in the world."

"Dante …"

Dante's face came to Trish's own. "He's been out there for years Trish, and I never even knew … I think I have … _I never even knew …_ " he rubbed his face, breathing loudly. "Shit …"

Trish crouched down next to him, holding his face and looking into his eyes. "Look at me, Dante."

Dante shook his head.

"Dante …"

"It's alright Trish," Dante said, clutching her hands and pushing them down, "it's alright, it's not your fault. I just don't want to look at you right now. You know you look too much like her."

Trish looked deeply at him for a while, then nodded her head. "What are you going to do?"

Dante chuckled. "I can't even look after myself, now I'm gonna look after kids and start an orphanage? I don't think I'm capable of even pulling off this shit. I can't be kidding myself, I'm not a pop to anyone."

"Do you want to give up?" Trish said, "we can just go back to hunting demons …"

"Nah," Dante said, "I can't give up. I'd lose then. I can't lose. I lost Aaliya, I won't lose any more."

Trish nodded. "What are you gonna do now then?"

Dante sighed. "I'm going to start the orphanage, _I'm doing that for sure._ But now I also gotta find that kid and work out who the hell he is. And if he's mine ..."

"He could be Vergil's."

Dante chuckled. "I don't even think that guy had a sex drive, much less a kid."

"You sure?" Trish asked.

Dante shrugged his shoulders. "Either way, I'm sure the kid's part of my bloodline. He's my responsibility – Vergil's dead."

"So what's the plan?"

"I'm gonna go find the kid," Dante said, "and I'm going to let him know that he can find refuge with me. He's not gonna be an orphan no longer. If he really is related to me, I'll give him the fatherhood I never had."

Trish nodded. "Alright. And what about this orphanage?"

"We'll get to that – but right now I'm going after that kid."

 **Next Time :** Dante learns some hard truths about the kid. And they terrify him.

 **Authors Note :** So second chapter done and dusted. Serious, leave reviews if you want to see more. I don't have a limit to release a new chapter - I just looove them reviews!

The song I was listening to whilst doing this chapter was Sinnerman by Nina Simone. It's actually pretty fitting for this chapter; because Dante has a _very_ dark past for this story :)


	3. Chapter 3 - You can't handle the truth!

**A/N -** After you read this chapter, you should deffo let me know in the reviews if you appreciate the direction this story is going in xD

 **UPDATE : 02/06/2016 -** Guys, I am super glad for all your feedback and will answer it all next chapter; but I just want to let you all know that I haven't left this story. You can expect a new chapter by the end of June/start of July. It's already in the works but I'm just wrapping up on another chapter of my current story (Everybody Wants to Rule the World - which I'd REALLY recommend if you liked this one even if you are fandom blind :D ). So don't worry, I do love this story and I won't be depriving you guys of a new chapter altogether I'm just SUPER lazy with updates :P

 **CH. 3 – You can't handle the truth!**

A whir of movement spiked on the buildings above Dante.

Adrenaline burst through the older devil hunter and his eyes snapped up to the spaces, one hand instinctively clutching his pistol whilst the other covered his eyes from the sun. His eyes darted left and right as he scanned for the kid. That was the kid … it had to be the fucking kid … only the kid could barrel over the buildings like that …

The kid's black hoodie beamed in the sunlight as he dashed over a gap.

Another bolt of adrenaline ripped through Dante. It _was_ the fucking kid! The devil-hunter launched forwards, sprinting towards the building he'd last seen the kid and following the kid with his eyes. Ohh it had taken him a long time to find the little brat but it was _worth it_!

The kid flipped over another gap, his filthy white hair shining as he landed out of sight.

Dante's burst into the alleyway on the left and sprinted forwards towards the centre. If he wasn't careful, the kid would get away, and that thought _terrified_ Dante. Mostly because he'd have to find the little brat again, and that already took so long the first time.

The kid was out of sight now.

He wasn't losing this kid – _not today_. He sprinted forwards and bound between the buildings, using each as a jump pad to zoom up the walls and drive himself to the top.

The white haired boy sped forwards in front of Dante, his body deftly hopping over the spaces in the buildings.

The kid wasn't getting away this time. Dante clenched his fists and rushed forwards, devil-triggering as he sped towards the kid. He pounced across the buildings like a jaguar, catching up to the kid in no time at all.

The kid barrelled into a forwards roll and landed facing Dante, his hand clutching his own revolver and skilfully pointing it at Dante's head.

Dante snatched his own pistol from the holster – untriggering and levelling the barrel on the kid's head.

The kid's breathing was calm and focused – blue eyes staring deeply into Dante's own.

Dante's face had a gigantic grin as his pistol aimed at the boy. "What's good, kid?"

The boy stood straight – blue eyes fixed on Dante's own and his gun clenched in his human arm, aiming at Dante. On the side was the words ' _Blue Rose_ '. The kid's breathing was slow and controlled. "You fell from a roof."

The grip on Dante's gun was firm, his smirk wide and cocky. "You made me fall from a roof."

The kid's eyes darted between Dante's own. "You deserved it for chasing me."

Dante cocked his head. "You made me chase you when you took a demon that wasn't yours."

The kid's teeth gritted, his gun held high. "You have some shit logic on ownership and respon-"

Dante immediately dashed to the kid's side, grabbing the gun and yanking it from the kid's arm.

The kid didn't even have time to react.

Dante broke the barrel of the gun – ripping it off and unloading the clip. Then he broke the gun in half and dropped it to the floor. Then he emptied all the bullets of the clip into his mouth and crunched them in between his teeth. He then spat out the shells onto the floor. "That's what I think of your gun."

The kid's eyes were wide as he stepped backwards. " _Oh .._."

" _Where's the goddamn vial, kid_?!"

The kid flinched, frightened blue eyes widening and his hand shooting into his back pocket and pulling out the vial. " _Here, it's here I got it_."

Dante snatched the vial from the kid's hand and shot him another smile. "Thanks, kid." Then he turned around and away from the kid.

The vial was a golden white, wrapped in a floral pattern on the metal. It had sheets of what appeared to be some kind of strong plastic that you could see through to the other side on separate places around the vial.

Dante's stomach churned and he slowly revolved the piece of tech in his hands. He studied it cautiously, checking all the nooks and grooves and crannies. It was an insanely powerful piece of tech … one that was just way too powerful to be in an orphan's hands, which made Dante question just why the kid had it. "Where did you get this …"

The boy's demon arm clutched onto Dante's shoulder, a smirk on his face.

Dante's heart dropped and he instinctively grabbed for the kid's devil arm. Now he realised just how bad an idea it was to _ever_ turn away from the kid. "Oh, _you little shit_."

The demon arm whipped Dante off his feet and into the air.

A bolt of adrenaline rushed through Dante and he accidentally let go of the vial, his body swinging into the air. He could already tell that the kid's demon arm was so powerful that he was going to go hurtling through the air until he crashed into the building on the opposite side of the street. He raged at his own cockiness and fumbled for the vial in the air.

The kid grabbed the vial out the air from in front of Dante and clutched it close to him, sticking his demon-arm middle finger up at Dante as the older devil-hunter flew through the air.

Dante smirked, barrelling through the air. He couldn't deny it, the kid had _style._ He closed his eyes and stretched his arms out as he hurtled towards the opposite building. This might hurt a little bit.

His whole body crashed into the building opposite, creating a massive explosion inwards into the building. He crashed into a wall on the back and dropped to the floor on his side. He groaned, and lifted himself up as bits of plaster fell off his coat. He looked around with a pained squint.

It was an old building site or something. Like a building project that was started but never finished.

Dante took a breath of relief. _Good._ At least nobody would be here to have been hurt by Dante's sudden ( _and explosive_ ) entrance. He checked his tongue with his fingers.

It had been cut, and there was fresh blood on Dante's fingers.

He raged and spat out the taste of iron from his own blood, as gashes on his arms, legs and back healed in real-time. The little bastard made him bite his tongue! Ohhhh, he was gonna _die_ now. Dante looked through the hole he'd just created.

The kid was making a dash for it across the buildings – fluidly hopping from one building to the next. His hood alternated on and off on thick white hair as he athletically bounded between the buildings.

Another bolt of adrenaline burst through the devil-hunter, and he clambered to his feet, the rest of the plaster falling off his coat. He sprinted towards the hole and pounced through. He cleared the street in one fell swoop, and he didn't really care about not showing the kid the true extent of his anger anymore. This kid was gonna hurt for pissing the older devil hunter off.

The kid was deftly moving across the buildings again. His limber form dodged between the buildings as the hood on his head alternated from coming up and falling off of dirty white bangs.

Dante tutted. This wasn't gonna work. Just trying to beat the kid on raw speed would be a waste of time – especially when the kid had this much of a head start. If Dante had worked out anything from his first encounter with the kid, it was that the kid was _at least_ as fast as Dante. He needed a new plan. _Think, Dante, think._

The kid was sprinting in a straight line.

Dante smirked. He could always stop the kid with the threat of his sword.

The kid was dashing forwards.

Dante's smirk turned into a grin and he figured it was high time to halt the kid's forward momentum. He lifted his sword out from its holster. Then he kissed the blade and threw it at the kid.

The blade screamed through the air towards the kid.

Wait … maybe this wasn't such a good idea …

In less than a second, the kid registered that the sword was hurtling towards him and threw himself to the left, his whole body crashing into the floor as the sword zoomed past him and stabbed into the space directly in front of him. Blue eyes spun around in exasperation, his breathing now in rags. " _What the hell, old man?!_ "

Dante pumped his fist. Yes! The risk had paid off! And all without killing the child! He used the plenty of extra time that the kid was just sitting there being exasperated to gain on the kid even more. In no time at all, he made his way all the way to the kid. And that thought made Dante very happy indeed.

The kid watched Dante fearfully, his eyes shooting from Dante to the closest building.

Dante hopped onto the building the kid was on, now remembering how the little shit had cut his tongue. "As a general rule in life, kid … _don't throw people through fucking buildings!_ "

The kid skittered away from Dante on the floor, blue eyes fixed on Dante's own. " _The fuck …_ "

Why did Dante get the feeling the kid was gonna try something? "Kid, whatever you're about to do …"

The kid grabbed onto a make-shift bed that was bolted into the roof and ripped it from its place, hurtling it at Dante's form with his devil arm.

Dante used his trickster abilities to zip straight through the incoming bed without hurting himself any. He came back into being directly in front of the kid. " _Boo._ "

The kid yelped, falling backwards into the wall and shivering.

Dante laughed and his arms stretched out to his sides. He was enjoying this far more than he should have been. "No more tricks for me?"

The kid gritted his teeth and launched his devil arm towards Dante in a fist.

 _Bad move, kid._ Dante stepped to the left, grabbing the kid's devil arm with both hands and twisting him around into the air using the kid's own momentum. Dante almost laughed at just how easy the boy was making this now _._ It looked like the kid had just got into a desperate panic, and now was trying anything that worked.

The kid wailed in the air.

Then Dante crashed the kid's face into the floor, and applied pressure with his knee on the back of the kid's shoulder whilst still holding the kid's arm, silently threatening to dislocate it if the kid so much as moved. "Nah kid. I know the power of that arm now. And you know what they say. Fool me once, shame on you but fool me twice and I'll _fucking kick your ass up and down these rooftops._ "

The kid was panting heavily, his non-demon hand clutching onto the shoulder. He was shaking and grunting through gritted teeth as his body shook. Blue eyes were wide and frightened.

The kid's squirms under Dante made him smile. Having power over others was definitely a draw for Dante. But not in the same way as Vergil lusted for power. Instead, it was more the power of fighting and winning. He turned the kid around. "What? No more tricks for me, kid?"

The kid tried to hold back his tears, his body shaking as he glared into Dante's eyes. " _Fuck you,_ " he whispered.

 _What the hell are you doing, Dante?_ All at once, Dante felt like shit, and a heavy frown fell over his face. Sometimes his love for fighting made him oblivious to the people he was actually fighting. In this case, it was just a kid … and even though the kid had a rough demeanour, he was still scared underneath.

The kid shook heavily underneath Dante, trying real hard to keep back the tears. His hands clutched at the building and his devil arm pulled up some of the building with it as he held his cheek against the building, his eyes tightly shut.

Dante tensed and let his eyes wander around away from the kid. Even if the kid was trying not to be scared, Dante could tell that the kid was scared for his life. He tutted, shaking his head. What the hell was he doing – scaring a kid more than he had to be. He realised now just how much his love for fighting was a drawback to him. He stood up from the kid, looking into the kid's eyes and offering the boy his hand. "I … look kid, I know it doesn't look like it right now, but I'm actually on your side."

The kid blinked, his eyes shooting to the nearest building.

" _I'm on your side, kid_. You don't need to run."

The kid's eyes shot to Dante again, slowly crawling away from Dante and standing up from his place. Blue eyes carefully studied Dante's own. "You're on my side?"

Dante raised his eyebrows. Just as quickly as Dante had given him some leeway, the kid was back to masking his fear incredibly well again. The kid was very good at that – and maybe that was because of these streets he had spent so much time on. "All the way, kid."

The kid said nothing for a while. "Then I want your guns."

Dante's shoulders tensed and his eyes narrowed at the kid. What? He wasn't giving his babies to no goddamn brat! Let alone the brat, he wouldn't give his babies to Lady or Trish neither! "There is no way that I'm giving you my guns, kid."

The kid's eyes narrowed. Then he studied his demon-arm nails. "Well … I guess you can think like that. But I don't really know if you're on my side until you give me your guns, old man."

 _The little … !_ Dante growled. It was pretty clear the kid knew of his power over Dante. And the kid had come to the conclusion that Dante did in actual fact need him or want to talk to him and was now going to use that information as leverage. The kid was way too clever for his own good. "What kind of logic is that, you picky ass brat?"

The kid squinted. " _My logic._ "

He was related to Dante … _he had to be …_ but Dante with all his heart just hoped it wasn't because Dante was his father. "And if I don't?"

The kid shrugged. "I'm not gonna trust you until you trust me with your guns."

" _You little …_ "

The kid smiled – his blue eyes wide and full of mischief and white hair loosely falling over his forehead.

Dante couldn't help it, and he smirked involuntarily. The kid was cocky, Dante'd give him that much, and that cockiness was so much like Dante himself. "Alright then, kid," Dante said, taking the guns from their holsters and spinning them on his hands. Then he handed them to the kid. "Here. But know that if you try to screw me, I'll stab you."

The kid carefully watched the guns for a few seconds with wide, blue eyes. Then he slowly took the guns from Dante's hands, studying them with his eyes and weighing them with his hands. " _Wow._ "

Dante tutted, his eyes fixed on Ebony and Ivory. "Be careful with my babies, or I'll stab you."

The kid didn't look at him, aiming the guns off into the distance. "Is your answer to every problem violence?"

Dante shook his head. "Don't question my answers to problems or I'll stab you."

The kid lifted one of the guns to his ear, shaking it slowly. "There's no bullets in these guns."

What the – Dante furrowed his brows. The kid was perceptive. "Yeah, they run on demon power. Hey _hey_ watch it kid … those babies are worth more than your life."

The kid's blue eyes came to regard Dante. "Demon power?"

"Yeah," Dante said, "demon power. Like your arm."

The kid's eyes widened and shot to Dante. "You know about my arm?"

Actually no, that arm gave Dante the shivers. It wasn't just powerful – it was immensely so - and he'd never seen anything like it before. Everything he'd knew about the arm would be basic demon weapon knowledge. "Here, let me see it."

Nero stopped playing with the guns and stepped back slightly, his head shaking in the negative. Both hands went behind the kid's back (along with Dante's pistols) and his human arm clasped over the devil one. "Nuh-uh."

Dante flinched. The kid didn't trust him. " _Relax kid_ ," he said, "if I wanted to hurt you I'd have already done it."

The kid watched Dante for a long while with deep eyes of blue.

Dante sighed. Why was it so hard for this kid to just trust an albino man in a red leather duster that carried a gigantic sword and two pistols that ran on demon power who could move at lightning speeds and survive being thrown through a building?

Dante scratched his cheek. Maybe he was going about this all wrong. "Sometimes the arm hurts, right?"

The kid's eyes went wide and his shoulders raised up for a second. "It … errm …"

Dante's hand went up to calm the kid. "Relax kid, you can tell me. My guns run on demon power, remember?"

The kid regarded the pistols and nodded. "Sometimes … _sometimes it hurts so bad, man_. Can you fix it?"

Dante nodded, his hand coming out. "Let me see it and I'll tell you what the problem is."

The kid raised one eyebrow, his human fingers unconsciously rubbing his devil arm behind his back. Then his eyes went to the floor, and for a long while, his eyes darted between two spots on the floor, his brows furrowed in thought.

Dante narrowed his eyes again. It looked like the kid was fighting with whether to trust the elder devil hunter or not. And whilst doing so, he was drawing further away from Dante.

The kid looked back at Dante and shook his head in the negative. "No can do, old man."

Damnit, this wasn't working. The kid was practically genetically conditioned to not trust anyone. It came with the street life of an orphan. "Kid, I know that pain. It's not the type that goes away in a flash. It's the kind of deep pain that keeps you awake at night."

The kid's eyes were wide. "How do you …"

"Because like you, kid, I'm part demon. I can help you. If you show it to me."

The kid's eyes shot between Dante's own, wide and frowning. He thought about this for a long time. " _I don't trust you though …_ "

The kid was losing his willpower to fight against Dante. And Dante could feel it. But that could also be pretty dangerous. Because if the kid was anything like Dante and Vergil, then he'd want to stay in control of the situation. He'd reject his feelings in favour of what he knew worked in the streets. Dante carefully raised his palm. "You can trust me, kid. _Please_ show me your arm."

The kid shook his head, throwing one of Dante's pistol's across the rooftop. "Nah, I'd rather not."

A bolt of fear burst through Dante and his hand instinctively stretched out in front of him. No! Ebony! He pounced forwards, grabbing the gun from the air and clutching it in his hand.

The kid squeezed off a shot from his single pistol from behind Dante.

Another bolt of adrenaline flooded through Dante and he instinctively twisted in the air, dodging a demon bullet and landing back on the floor, his single gun shooting up to face the kid's own. " _You're pissing me off_."

The kid smirked as he held the gun, having regained control of the conversation. "Sorry, old man. Things were getting a little too feely for my liking."

Dante stood up, his gun still trained on Nero and walked around to the side. "You're testing my patience."

The kid shrugged his shoulders heavily – the action causing white hair to fall over his eyebrows – and kept his gun trained on Dante. "Yeah well it's not every day some weird guy in a red leather duster survives you trying to kill him twice and then sticks his gun at you."

Dante scratched his eyebrow with the pistol. That was very true. And the kid had learnt how to manifest his demon power into bullets in less than five minutes. And that was _way too quick_. "You have too many trust issues, kid."

The kid stood firm and straight with slow and controlled breathing. "Kept me alive this long."

Dante shook his head. _Think, Dante, think._ What possible thing could he do to make the kid _trust_? Dante had always been good at reading people, and now it was just about putting that to this situation. "Alright, look kid …" Dante said slowly, once again scratching his eyebrow with his gun, "this clearly isn't working. But I do gotta talk to you - so why don't we call a truce?"

Nero said nothing, with Dante's pistol _Ivory_ clutched in his hand and aimed at its owner.

Dante was cautious, his gun trained on the kid. Alright, take a chance, why the hell not? If it got the kid to trust him, he was willing to try anything. He rolled his shoulders and span the pistol on his hand. Then he holstered the pistol away and looked into the kid's eyes. "You wanna play a game?"

The kid's blue eyes went wide. "A game?"

Dante nodded with a smirk. "Yeah, a game. I ask you a question and you give me an answer; then you hit me with a question and I answer. We keep going until we both know what we want to know. That way, you only give as much trust as you get."

The kid's eyes scanned Dante's own.

"Here," Dante said, "you can even start."

The kid contemplated for a while, the gun trained on Dante. His eyes were still darting between Dante's own. "Why are you following me, old man?"

Dante smirked. This would open up the kid, but now Dante was also struggling a little, because the kid had opened with a real hard question. He scratched his cheek, sitting down on a chimney stub. "Eh - you might be related to me, kid."

The kid's eyes went wide, his gun still trained on Dante. "Who are you?"

Alright, so far this was working, even if the kid didn't really get the idea of _one question each_. "I'm a devil-hunter, kid. I kill demons for money."

"How?"

Dante shook his head. "It's my turn now."

The kid furrowed his brows. "Alright old man, ask your question."

"Why are you on the street, kid?"

The kid thought about this for a while. "I like living rough. Now my turn."

"Na that didn't answer …"

" _My turn._ "

Dante smirked. The kid had all the patience of Dante himself. "Alright then, kiddo," Dante said patiently, "what do you wanna know?"

"Why do you have the same hair and eyes as me?"

Dante's eyes shot to the floor and he scratched his cheek again. That was another very good question. And Dante didn't have no answers to that question for the kid that were concrete. He shrugged. "Kid … I was hoping you could tell me."

The kid contemplated this for a while. "Then … how are you related to me?"

" _No,"_ Dante said, "it's my turn now."

"But I want to know."

"And you will," Dante said, "after my question."

The kid contemplated for a moment. "Alright, ask your question."

"What's your name, kid?"

The kid thought about this for a while. "My name is Tobias."

 _Bullshit._ "Now tell me what your real name is, kid."

The kid narrowed his eyes. "That is my real name. Now how are you related …"

" _That's not your real name,_ " Dante said forcefully. "Tell me your real name now or we stop the game."

Dante thought he saw a flash of fear at the kid's eyes from that. And normally he wasn't wrong about reading people's emotions. But that didn't make sense to Dante - why would the kid be scared of stopping the game when he was so ready to kill Dante not moments ago?

The kid lowered the gun. His eyes studied his feet and he scratched at dirty white bangs as he contemplated. "My name … _it's Nero_ ," he said and regarded Dante with piercing blue eyes, the pistol going back up, "my name is Nero."

What a badass name … and one that fitted the kid well. "Nero, huh?"

The pistol went back up to aim at Dante. "How are you related to me?"

Dante shrugged. "I don't know."

"How do you know me?"

Dante shrugged again. "I don't know that neither, kid. I only met you when I saw you back at that old house you caught that demon in. Now my turn for a question."

"I got one more question," the kid said.

"Clearly you aren't getting the rules of the game, kid, so …"

"Please, just one more question."

Dante sighed. "Alright, hit me with it."

"Is your name Dante?"

The hairs on the back of Dante's neck stood on edge and his eyes widened; his shoulders tensing at the sound of his own name. He hesitantly sat on the chimney stub, so most of his body was leaning off of it. Whatever the kid was about to say next, Dante had a very bad feeling it would not bode well for the older devil hunter. "How do you know my name, kid?"

The kid's face dropped and the gun in his hand stopped aiming at Dante. His eyes were blank as they shot between Dante's own.

Dante was beginning to get alarmed, and he narrowed his eyes. His hands clutched the chimney stub underneath him. "Kid, do you know me from somewhere?"

" _I have another question for you_ ," the kid rasped, his eyes glacially blue and staring at Dante's own.

Dante slowly stood up from the chimney stub, his body half-crouched as he rose with all the caution of a deer. His eyes lasered in on Nero. "Kid …"

" _Why did you leave my mom, old man_?"

A bolt of pure fear shot through Dante, and his hands went to his head. _ARRGH NO FUCK!_ He'd fucked up. He'd fucked up so hard. He dropped in front of the kid, his hands going onto the kid's shoulders. "Kid, I didn't know she was …"

" _Why did you …_ " the kid's voice was breaking slightly, and he gulped in an effort to control it. " _You left me,_ " tears began welling in Nero's eyes. " _You left me._ "

Dante's throat was coarse and he bolted up in front of the kid, his head shaking. His hands clutched the kid's shoulders harder. "Kid, it's not like that … I didn't know about you …"

" _You didn't know about me?_ "

Dante tensed, his hands coming up to the kid's cheeks. He couldn't believe how badly this was going, and he shook his head again ruefully. "Kid you don't understand …"

" _How many children have you actually gave birth to that you don't know about_?"

Dante's limbs were heavy and his eyes were staring into Nero's own. The kid was drawing further away from Dante with every single breath. "Kid … please don't …

Nero roared, his face red and pushed Dante's hands from his face. " _Fuck you, you bastard!_ "

"Nero … please …"

The kid lashed out, pushing Dante away with every new approach. " _I waited ten FUCKING years for you!"_

Dante felt like he couldn't do anything to calm the kid, and his hands went back up to Nero's face haphazardly. "Kid, listen to me, _listen,_ I understand what you're going through and …"

The kid rammed his devil fist into Dante's jaw. " _No you don't understand what I'm going through!_ "

Pain bled into Dante's jaw and he crashed into the floor, his eyes blurry at the force of the hook. His brain snapped back quickly, his eyes shooting to the kid. "Kid, honestly … I know how bad this looks …"

The kid roared and jumped on top of Dante, grabbing him by the scruff of his collar with his human hand.

Dante could easily knock the kid off of him. But he needed the kid to know that he was sorry. _He needed the kid to calm down first._ "Kid …"

The kid rammed his demon arm into Dante's face.

Pain bashed into Dante's face, but he didn't move and he flinched at the kid's pained expression. His face went into a heavy frown. "Nero ..."

This only seemed to infuriate the boy further, and his devil-hand rammed into Dante's face again. " _You weren't there, you bastard! Where were you when I needed you_?!"

His words were like daggers to Dante's brain. Dante tried to control the kid; taking the hits and holding the kid's head. "Nero …"

" _Shut up_!"

Dante winced at the breaking voice of the kid.

Nero rammed his fist into Dante's face again. " _Did you even know that I was out there for fucking nights in a row without food or water?_ _Or that I watched whilst everyone around me died because of poor fucking living conditions? Did you know that … I was experimented on … for fucking weeks … FOR FUCKING WEEKS … for this bastard arm?!_ " He came off Dante, stepping backwards with tears streaming down his face as he fell backwards. _"I needed you, you bastard!_ "

No, no, _Nero. Please._ Dante clutched the boy's cheeks again, effectively holding him in place and twisting around so he was on his knees next to the kid. He and the kid were now eye-level. "I never knew, Nero. I cared … I promise you I would have cared but I never knew …"

Nero's tears were afresh in his eyes, his eyes raw as he struggled against Dante. " _I waited for you, you bastard I kept going back to where she died to see if you'd come to get me. And you never did YOU NEVER CAME BACK and I watched for days to see if you would come and you didn't._ "

Dante began shaking, his hands coming to embrace the kid. "Nero, I never knew …"

" _You did know!_ " he roared, pushing Dante away and ramming his fists into Dante's sides.

Dante took the hits, clutching his son to his stomach with a heavy frown.

" _You always knew!_ " Nero said, struggling against the man, _"and you told her you would come back for her. She waited for you and you never came,_ " he was inconsolable now, his whole body rattling and his eyes red with tears as his hands rammed into Dante's sides, " _and she told me you would come and she told me for seven years that you were gonna save me and her and you didn't and you didn't save her and she DIED and it was all your fault it was ALL YOUR FUCKING FAULT and you were supposed to be there and …_ "

Dante's eyes were watering, his arms clutching the boy even tighter. "Kid, I'm so sorry …"

The kid lashed out at Dante, trying to push away from his hug and ramming his hands into Dante's sides. " _What the fuck am I gonna do with your sorry, you bastard? It won't bring her back and it won't fucking change what happened …_ "

"Kid …"

Nero tried pushing him away hard, his face raw with tears. " _Fuck you I don't need you get away from me!_ "

Dante sat down, so his cheek came into contact with his son's own tear-streaked cheek and he clutched the kid even closer, trying to keep the kid from hurting either of them.

The kid broke his hands into Dante's sides.

Every blow was a bulldozer to Dante's ribs, but he ignored the pain and stroked the kid's hair. " _Kid, I'll fix this …_ "

But the kid didn't care. His own rage and sadness had consumed him. And so the kid just hammered into Dante for at least ten minutes; roaring and punching until he couldn't anymore. Blabbering sentences like ' _you were never there_ ' and ' _I waited for you_ ' and inconsolable sentences that Dante couldn't understand. And eventually, after what seemed like aeons, the boy's body collapsed into a bundle in Dante's arms, and all his strength withered from his body.

Dante held Nero. "Kid …"

The kid was out.

Dante brushed the kid's tears, frowning deeply.

The kid was so peaceful in Dante's arms, his breathing slow and stuttered from the crying.

Dante had never been the type of guy to cry. But now he was really struggling to hold back tears. The kid was _so_ amazing. The kid was amazing to Dante. A full, healthy white head of hair and a lean, athletic body. Intelligence that matched Dante's own and a moodiness that matched Vergil. Dante smirked. He was everything he would have wanted in his kid.

 _And the kid hated Dante._ Like, with all his heart and with burning fire he hated Dante.

And now Dante frowned. Because Dante could fully understand that. Spending that much time on the streets without a father was a curse upon any child. All he could see towards Dante was … resentment …

Nero breathed slowly from the floor, his eyes shut and his white hair accentuated in the sunlight. Every now and again his breath hitched in his throat from the tears.

Dante's eyes welled up. Y'know, the kid … he'd turned out okay. His kid had turned out okay. He was strong … and healthy … and _full of youthful angst_. Dante almost chuckled but caught himself when he realised just how much the boy hated Dante.

The kid's face was red and raw.

Dante had made it like that. He didn't meant to but … _shit_. He stood up with the boy's limp body in his arms and planted a kiss on the kid's forehead. He couldn't help it. He just felt such a raw connection with the kid. Then he carried the boy back to Devil May Cry. And for the entire journey, he just kept looking at the kid's face.

The older devil hunter almost wanted to lash out at the world for not telling him about his son. But there was no point. Deep down he knew it was all his own fault. Ten years ago, he was brash and young. And he never saw women as anything more than a time pass. But sometimes, they didn't see it that way. And they thought it was more. And Dante was too stupid to realise that those mistakes would cost him. Now that he'd grown, he would never make those mistakes again … but how he wished with all his heart that he could go back and change all that now. It was a regret that welled so deep inside him it hurt.

He walked into Devil May Cry with his son's face on his chest, immediately walking into his bedroom and completely ignoring Lady and Trish as they watched him walk in with a white-haired kid. He closed the door behind him, and carefully placed the boy on the bed as if Nero was made of graphite.

The boy was slowly breathing on his side, his mouth slightly agape, his breath still hitching every now and again with the tears.

He lay with his kid, his arms embracing Nero and his hand going to stroke over the kid's dirty white hair. It was soft – baby soft – even with all the dirt that matted it.

The kid's head was warm on his chest.

A single tear now did leave Dante's eye. Because when the kid woke up, he wouldn't want anything to do with Dante. He would straight-up either try to kill Dante or leave him as quickly as possible. And that pain ripped at his heart so fast and hard.

But for now, the kid was at peace. Lost in his dreams and finally with his pop.

Yet the pain ripped at Dante even further as he clutched Nero close to him, hearing the kid's heartbeat through his body – the warmth of the boy radiating into Dante's chest and the slow sound of his breathing like music to Dante's ears.

Dante carefully ran his fingers along the grooves of the kid's devil arm.

It was _powerful._ Fitting for his kid, really. But he knew it was causing his son pain – and even then, the arm itself must cause a lot of attention. The kid didn't cover it neither, so people would always be looking at it. At some point, the kid mentioned that he was experimented on, but that whole conversation was a blur now. Dante would get revenge on the people who experimented on his son eventually though - he resolved that fact with all his heart.

And after a long while of just laying with his kid and just looking at him, his thoughts started to drift to future things. Like how exactly he would even be able to provide for his kid; what kind of things he wanted to do with his kid; how he wanted his kid to turn out. All these thoughts started running through his head, and almost as quickly as he did, he realised that it wouldn't matter if his kid didn't want to be around him.

He shook his head heavily. He would need to find some way to change the kid's mind. It already seemed like the craziest uphill battle he could think of. So what potential route could he take to make his kid stay with him for a while longer?

He knew he couldn't use violence or the threat of violence any more. He'd already crossed too many lines, and hurt his kid too much already. So violence and the threat of violence were off the table.

He also knew that he couldn't just politely ask the kid. The kid harboured at least ten years of hate towards Dante, and all of it was _directly_ aimed at Dante. All the bad experiences in his life would be blamed on Dante until he did something to fix the situation. He scratched his chin.

What about appealing to the kid? He always knew he was good with talking to people; and he could translate that to appealing to the kid's inner soul. No, _no,_ because of the kid's hate, he wouldn't talk to Dante for long enough to be able to actually make a dent in the kid's hatred.

 _Unless he did actually make a dent_.

Now that Dante thought about it, he could potentially make the kid even angrier than he already was and that would make the kid stay around just out of sheer annoyance. It worked when picking up girls so why not when building a stronger bond with his son? Dante shook his head. _Now he was just being desperate._

He thought for a long while, stroking the kid's hair and listening to the careful breathing of the boy in his sleep. Nothing was coming to his head. Nothing that he could think of that would make the boy stay with him. He gritted his teeth, holding back a roar as his mind darted through every idea he could think of.

He needed something … something where the kid could benefit and that way stay with Dante …

Dante stopped stroking the kid's hair for a second.

What about a mutually beneficial agreement? Dante could offer the kid hot food, a bed and a place to stay whenever he needed it, and in exchange Dante could have time to talk to his kid. That way, the kid benefited whenever he was living on the street because he could always seek shelter in Devil May Cry if he got too cold or too hungry. And Dante benefited because he got to see his son and talk to him.

Dante sat up, looking at his kid.

It wouldn't be easy. It would take time, and patience to build a strong bond like that, both of which Dante felt he couldn't do. Even another minute without his son threatened to destroy the elder hunter's last remaining shreds of humanity.

The boy was breathing slowly, his human hand slowly clutching at the bed and his white brows furrowed, almost as if he was thinking or maybe dreaming whilst he slept.

Dante smirked. Damn, the kid was just too fricking cool, and Dante embraced the kid with his whole body again, his chin resting on the boy's hair. And now the plan was making even more sense; the more the kid stayed over Devil May Cry, the more Dante could talk to him and slowly break down his walls. Then he could be let into the kid's heart.

Dante nodded, stroking the kid's hair.

 _Baby soft …_ he smirked again and stood up and went around to the other side of the bed.

So he would wait until the kid woke up.

And then he would tell him about his agreement.

 **A/N -** Tbh I'm not sure how this chapter is going to go down - but I hope it goes down well with you guys. Let me know in the reviews what your thoughts are on the story so far ... and know that you're reviews will speed up my updates!

Unlike with the others - the song for this one doesn't actually apply to the situations - but I think it's mood really captures what feelings I'm trying to convey here. So it's 'Welcome to Heartbreak' by Kanye West.

 **Next Time -** When the state of play is changed by the two devil's need for each other.


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